Page 61 of Secrets of a Kilted Seduction

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

That evening, as usual, Alana and Tadgh joined Blaine and his coterie of guests at the absent laird’s table for dinner.

“Why is he eatin’ so slowly,” Alana complained to him quietly. She had been surreptitiously watching Blaine throughout the meal, wishing it would end so they could put their plan in motion. “It’ll be midnight before he finishes at this rate.”

“Patience, me bonny lass. He’ll finish soon enough. Now, let’s rile him a little,” Tadhg replied.

“How? More kissing? Or shall I sit on yer lap this time?”

“Dinnae be like that. I told ye, the more we provoke him by showin’ him how happily married we are, the more he’ll hate me, and the more likely it is that he’ll slip up and show his true colors.”

“All right. What d’ye want me tae dae this time, Husband?”

“Cut me up a little of that beef on yer plate and feed it tae me with yer fork,” he told her with a mischievous grin. “That’ll drive him crazy. Just watch his face, eh?”

“Ye’re terrible, Tadhg MacTavish, d’ye ken that?” she said, laughing loudly.

“Quick, he’s lookin’ over this way. Dae it now. And make a fuss of me too, just tae be extra convincin’,” he urged her.

“Me darlin’ husband,” she said loud enough for Blaine to hear every word, “will ye nae try a wee bit of this beef. ’Tis really very good. Ye have tae keep yer strength up, ye ken.” She gave a girlish giggle for good measure as she leaned over and fed him the beef from her own fork.

“Mmm, thank ye, me bonny lass, that’s tasty indeed.” He ate the meat with such lascivious relish, it was hard for her not to simply dissolve into genuine giggles. She fed him another forkful and stroked his hair, watching Blaine from the corner of her eye, just as she knew Tadhg was doing.

“Did ye see the way he looked then? It was like a thunder cloud passing across the sun,” she whispered.

“Aye, I saw it. He hates me guts all right. But see how quickly that false smile of his comes back. Och, he’s riled all right.”

“Well, I hope it makes him eat a bit bloody faster then,” Alana observed. “And dinnae think ye’re gonnae eat all me beef. Get yer own.”

“Ye ken, sometimes ye can be awful hard on a man,” he retorted mildly, spearing a chunk of chicken with his knife and lifting it to his mouth. “I hope I’m nae gonnae turn intae one of those henpecked husbands.”

“Nay, just one of those husbands whose wife sticks her fork in his arse,” she replied casually, flicking him a challenging glance.

“Nae need fer such violence. I obey yer every command, me goddess, ye ken that,” he told her with a cheeky smile.

“Good. That’s as it should be then.”

It was over an hour later when dinner finally ended, by which time, Alana was champing at the bit. They watched Blaine’s movements covertly, and as soon as he drained his goblet of wine and got up from the table, excusing himself on business, they too got up. As Blaine exited the great hall, they followed him at a discreet distance to his study.

“Bugger,” Tadhg exclaimed softly. “How can we follow him when he’s goin’ nowhere but his study? We cannae wait around here all night waiting fer him tae come out.”

“Hang on a minute, I have an idea,” she told him, looking up and down the hallway. No one was about, but that would not last long, so she acted quickly. “Keep a lookout fer me. I’m gonane take a look inside and see what he’s doing.” She bent down and squinted through the keyhole.

“D’ye see him?” he asked, scanning the ends of the corridor.

“Nay, nae yet.”

“Well, hurry up. Someone could come along at any moment,” he urged her in a low voice.

“I’m lookin’. Nay, I cannae see him, oh, hold on, yes. I can! He’s by the hearth, and he’s… Lord above, Tadhg,” she exclaimed softly, straightening up.

“What is it?”

“He has a secret door in there, and he’s just vanished intae it!”

“Damn me, a secret passage, eh? I bet he can go from one end of the bloody castle tae the other without anyone seein’ him,” he breathed in amazement.

“Come on, let’s go after him before anyone sees us,” she said, opening the door and pulling him inside behind her. “’Tis nae such a surprise. These old castles are riddled with secret passages, so folks say. I’ve just never seen one before.”